Heart to Heart
by ivoryelephants
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn: In two years, the only thing Leah has done is help Jacob Black play glorifed babysitter to the Cullen's golden child. Until the day the tides begin to turn. Leah begrudgingly jumps aboard the crazy train once again, this time with some life-altering revelations. BLACKWATER.
1. Chapter 1

Two years to the day.

That's how long it had been since the stand-off…and not a damn thing had happened since then.

Not. A. Single. Thing.

"I'm so _bored_." Leah moaned, kicking the dirt with her feet. She sighed and then crossed her arms.

"Are you? I hadn't noticed…" Seth gestured to the little trench she had dug with her toes, a perfect half-moon that was turning into a muddy mess.

They'd been sitting in the field for hours…waiting; waiting for Jake to arrive with the blessed-unholy one, so that she could follow them around and learn about the land, and life…and occasionally go for FroYo on the beach. That part wasn't completely unbearable…it was the constant shepherding of a whiny, mutant, pre-teen that got old…_real_ fast.

Jake called it "exposure therapy". He figured the more he brought the miracle child around…the more used to her the pack would get. The more used to her people like Leah would get…well…Leah specifically.

"Yes. I _am_ bored. There hasn't been anything to do in…forever…and with our lucky genetic jackpot…we'll be stuck doing 'Thursday's with Little Miss Leech' for the rest of all eternity. I can't do it, Seth. I lack the capacity in my brain to even begin to comprehend how to get through another second of the monotony associated with our Alpha's undying devotion to Princess Sparklepants! Can you imagine the next hundred years? Rip out my throat. Do it right this second so you can eat me before they get here!" Leah let out an exasperated sigh and fell back into the grass.

"Are you quite done?" Seth said, raising an eyebrow.

But she was not done. Leah took another breath, "I just want to be _normal._ Why couldn't I have gotten knocked up in high school like half of the other girls in my grade? Mom and Dad would have sent me away and I would be a gazillion miles from all this stupid supernatural crap, working my way through community college and trying to balance the everyday challenges that accompany being a teen mom and having my own reality cable show. I should have let William Knowel swipe my V card sophomore year…he turned out to be cute _and_ potently fertile. He has like six kids now!"

Seth cringed. "First off, ew," he said. "And second, Leah, this is our destiny. It was genetically pre-ordained. We are here because of an exceptionally important purpose our ancestors appointed us hundreds of years ago, be proud of your birthright. Remember who you are."

She rolled her eyes "Okay, Mufasa…tone down the "this message has been paid for by the Werewolves for America" PSA…I know all that. It's just…I think our dear Grand-Wolves envisioned a future wrought with vamps roaming the world in constant battle with us all 'Underworld' style. Newsflash. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt…and now, instead of exceptional, we're just exceptionally BORING."

Leah rolled over onto her stomach and put her chin in her hands. Seth crawled out next to her and gave a sigh.

"I give up," he said "Appreciate awesome wolfness or don't…I'm enjoying it, and I will not let your delusion ruin this for me. You have to admit, you gotta' love some of the perks."

"Whatever," she answered, flattening herself to the ground "Do you think they would notice I was gone if I just buried myself in the grass?"

As if on some terrible cue, Jakes voice came cutting through the clearing "Hey guys!"

Leah let out a muffled groan into the dirt.

"What's up?" He asked, approaching. Sure enough, the golden girl trailed behind. Leah was beginning to think that part of the brat's freaky "gifts" was to cast an invisible leash out to Jake. It wasn't completely impossible, she told herself, at this point, she'd believe a lot of things.

"Oh, nothing." Leah began, sitting up. "Seth's feeling a little 'I am wolf, here me howl ' today."

"Yeah, and Leah's feeling a little unpleasant and overdramatic." Seth replied, sticking out his tongue.

"So, a pretty normal day for you two?"

Jake punched Seth in the arm playfully and then turned to the young girl behind him. She'd grown a bit more since the Volturi altercation, and now appeared to be, from the outside, an average twelve-year-old. But she was anything but average. Most kids that age start to get awkward ; Leah recalled her own years of puberty. She was a flat-chested string-bean with coke-bottle glasses and a boy haircut. Her mother thought it was adorable. Leah hated it so much, when she turned 13, she made the decision to never, ever cut it again. Yeah, that was going great.

The girl that was standing before her was anything but awkward. She was an exceptional specimen. She had perfect long, brown hair; brilliant arches and curves in her face, and a nice little body that would most likely turn into something sexy and fun for Jake to play with when it was done cooking. Nope. This chick had struck it big when it came to development…she'd grow into a perfect glowing pile of perfect perfection. And then she would stay that way, forever. _Perfect_.

"We are going to go into Port Angeles today. There is a film festival going on." Jake put his hand on Nessie's shoulder.

"Father and I agree that exposure to secondary resources will not only aid in my foreign language comprehension, but expand my horizons regarding other cultures as well."

Her voice was like a song. It was like listening to wind chimes. Leah imagined little butterflies flitting around the girls face every time her mouth was open. It was disgusting.

"Wait, wait, wait. Foreign. As in, not speaking English? Damn, Jake, please tell me this is a leech version of a joke." Leah knew she was whining. She didn't care. And she didn't care she had just used the 'D' and 'L' word…oh no! The ever-so-amazing-virtuous-lovely-marvelous one's virgin ears!

Jake opened his mouth to scold/answer, but then it happened.

A terrible bang rose from the direction of the reservation, and then, seeping into her heightened senses, Leah smelled smoke. Sure enough, a black cloud had begun to rise over the tree-line.

The exchange that followed was silent. In one seamless motion, the wolves had phased and Nessie was attached to Jake's back.

"_Meet at the ridge, I'll drop Nessie off at the Cullens. Bella and Edward will be worried." _Jake was in Alpha mode. His thoughts were alert and abrupt. Everything was an order that must be followed. Until they had more info, they had to assume the worse.

Even though she complained incessantly about it, the past two years of down time had offered numerous opportunity for drills. They had prepared for moments just like this, over and over again.

"_Status?" _ Jake asked as Embry's consciousness joined the group. Even from miles away, Leah could feel his nerves.

"_Whatever it is, it's on the Res." _ There was graveness to his voice, as well as worry.

One thing was for sure as they raced back towards La Push. Whatever it was, it most definitely was going to be very, _very_ far from boring.


	2. Chapter 2

It was like that seen from the Star Trek movie.

JJ Abrams, not Robert Wise.

The part when the Enterprise warps into a waiting trap (courtesy of some pissed Romulans), and it all goes from 0 to warzone in sixty seconds.

But this. This was ten times worse. This was real.

They made it to the tree line, meeting a haze of smoke and chaos. There were cars and people everywhere. The sound of sirens was faint in the distance, and the smell of sweat and smoke and something else was spreading as the pack arrived.

It was the smell of fear.

'_It's the school!' _Quil started, _'The school is on fire!'_

'_What?"_

"_That's crazy!"_

The weight of anxiety and fear that ran through the thoughts of the pack hit Leah from all sides. They were falling apart and they had only just got there. The questions and exclamations were indecipherable in the mess, scenario after scenario flitted from member to member.

Leah let out a growl. _'Everyone, stop! Get a grip. Right now, we need to be able to help any way we can. If you keep crowding the channel with your freak-outs, there's no way we can unite and do whatever it is we need to. We don't do this together, we're fucking over the Res and ourselves. Cut the shit!'_

'_Thanks, Leah.' _ Jake had joined them again. He sent them all a calming thought before he told them the info he'd gotten while examining the area. _'It looks like there was some sort of explosion in the basement of the school. From what I'm hearing, it looks like an issue with some pipes. The East side of the school is fine, and the students have already been evacuated. However, the rest is burning, and let's face it…it's an old building and it's going fast. The stability is compromised, and the volunteer firemen don't have the equipment to get in. _

'_What about the rest of the students in the school?' _Seth asked _'And the administrative offices; aren't those right above the basement?'_

'_That's the problem. No one's been able to get in to see, and everything has been so crazy, they haven't been able to see if anyone is missing. So we go in. There's more of them, so Sam's pack has most of the school covered. We need to get the South side. That's the science labs and some other classrooms. If you find someone, get them out. If you can't move them on your own, ask for help. Any questions?'_

Quil gave a nervous response. _'What if we find a dead body?'_

'_Get them out.' _Jake answered grimly _'Just get them out.'_

When she was inside, Leah easily maneuvered through the halls. Most of the wreckage was by the blast, the South side of the school was just on fire. She had made it through three classrooms, with no sign of anyone. The only problems that she and the rest of the pack were having, was navigating in the smoke. It was the only thing she smelled, and though there weren't a large number of flames where they were, it still felt like the whole area was a thousand degrees. When she entered the fourth room, Embry's voice came into her head.

'_There's three here!' He called 'Three girls in the Physics lab. They are passed out, and I think a little blue.'_

'_Alive?' _ Jake asked

'_I think so. Yeah, they are breathing…but it's all wheezy. I think one of them is Rita Hillstone.'_

'_Seth and Quil, go help out Embry.' _ Jake's command held the weight of an Alpha. _'Leah. Status.'_

'_Nothing. I just have one more room left, and then I was going to head to meet up with-'_

BOOM!

There was an explosion to Leah's left, and a flood of fire came sweeping over Leah's head. It started licking up the walls in the hall.

'_Leah, what was that?!' _Jake was alarmed, she could feel him searching for her. The rest of the pack was outside with the girls, and their detachment showed they had phased out.

She was aware of Jake's calls, but her ears were ringing and her vision was out of focus. There were shadows and blurs in the firelight, and something was holding her down. And then she was coughing, which caused her to realize she was no longer a wolf. She was just naked, and she was lying face down in rubble with fire trying to eat her. She was disoriented, like she'd had too much to drink.

A large russet wolf made its way around the corner.

"Jake?" She barely got it out. And then he was Jake again, and he was kneeling next to her.

"Leah, what the Hell!"

He pulled her out from under the table she was under. "That smell. I think it's gas, from the science lab. We need to get away. Can you phase?"

She tried to say yes, but it was like she was in a cloud. A ringing, stinking, high cloud.

Jake phased, and pulled her onto his back. They made it farther down the hall towards a window. Moments later, they crashed through glass into fresh air.

Later, as Leah's head began to clear, Jake brought her a blanket. He'd tied one around himself. They were at the rendezvous point, back in the forest.

"Seth said the girls Embry found were the only ones working in the labs. The blast happened at lunch, so luckily, most people were in the cafeteria. All of the students have been accounted for, and he said the only person they are missing is a janitor. They think he was in the janitor's office when it happened…which is right next to the basement…so…"

"Are you sure we got everyone?" Leah asked.

"Yeah. Not counting the janitor."

Leah coughed. She'd thought she saw someone in the shadows after the blast, but Jake's confirmation lifted her a bit. She would have hated to be responsible for missing someone.

Another explosion rocked the area.

"Fuck!" Jake yelled. "What is _happening_?!"

As Leah pulled off the blanket in preparation to phase, Jake stopped her.

"No, get dressed. Meet the rest of the pack, and see where you can help. There's lots of freaked out people, and they need us to be strong for them. Go, I'll phase out and meet up with the other pack."

Leah obeyed. These days, her reputation as a pack member was an important part of the La Push community. She didn't really associate a lot in public outside of her pack, but there was an unspoken responsibility to the people. It had been that way since the phasing had begun. No one really acknowledged there were bunch of "teen wolfs" running around, but it was like they knew, and respected you if you were one. You were kind of a leader, or a super hero or something…but, it was like some private secret you had that everyone knew about. Sam's pack was the core group, but even the presence of Jake's "group B" would still be welcome in a time like this. After all, the people on the Reservation didn't really know or care about the current politics…they were just concerned with being taken care of and comforted.

She dressed quickly and ran to the main entrance, where a large crowd had gathered. The fire department from Forks had now arrived, and there were tents scattered on the lawn. A news crew was trying to set up, but Mr. Rowe, the principal was arguing with them. She found Quil, Seth, and Embry underneath a tent, surrounded by a group of students. The three girls they had found were being checked out by some paramedics, and the other kids were watching the blaze.

"What was that last blast?" Leah asked.

"Don't know yet," said Embry. "Heard that it could be more pipes, gas lines, etc."

"We won't know until they can stabilize everything. " Said Seth. He was sitting on the ground, there was some girl with her head in his lap. She was crying. Leah raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning glance. 'She's scared' Seth mouthed.

Scared.

That was a feeling Leah had forgotten about. She was surprised that she had grown so desensitized to imminent danger. She was so used to almost dying, or thinking about almost dying that it only seemed natural. Even with things in the boring state they had been, the underlying ignorance to normal emotion still lived inside her. Leah sighed. She supposed that she would have been scared too, back when she was just a normal girl.

There was a commotion up at the front. The pack left the students and made their way to the front of the crowd. Jake was coming; he was covered in soot and was wearing a pair of charred shorts. There was a limp body in his arms. It was a young man, almost unrecognizable because he was so badly burned.

"Over here!" Someone called. It was a paramedic, rolling a gurney toward Jake.

"Call Carlisle Cullen," Jake said evenly, as he placed the young man in the gurney. "He'll know the best way to handle this. And hurry." He ignored the questions and the bustle around him. He pushed away everyone and headed straight toward the rest of the pack.

Something wasn't right.

His tone was too even, his eyes were too hard.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Leah asked.

Jake didn't answer, he just kept walking. The pack followed him silently, all the way to the tree line.

"That was Rod. One of Sam's." He had stopped walking. "He's the last one."

"The last one, what?" Quil asked.

A hard silence fell on the group this time. Leah knew the answer before he said it. It was heavy. Heavier than the smoke.

"The last one of Sam's pack. The rest of them are dead."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you so much for all the new adds! I really appreciate it :) I know it's been a little while, but hopefully things will pick up a bit now that it's summer and I have a little more free time. I know that many of you were dying on that last cliff hanger, so I hope that this answers a couple of questions. Not all of them, but some. Please enjoy, I've made it a bit longer than than the last few chapters, so hopefully that'll give you something to dig your teeth into!

Disclaimer: Do not own anything...blah.

* * *

1 _week later_

"…_We have yet to receive confirmation as to why the group of young men went into the blaze, but officials have stated that they did indeed enter after the first blast occurred. The lone survivor, now identified as Rodney Wilkson, is still in a coma, and has been taken to a private facility out of state for treatment. As this tragedy continues to unfold_—"

"Turn it off." Jake said, entering the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a plate of leftovers before retreating back to his room. It was the first time Leah and Seth had seen him all day, and only the third time they'd seen him all week. In the wake of the fire, he'd spent most of his time with the Cullens…and not the semi-tolerable ones. The ones that whined and cried and sucked their perfect teeth, while running their hands through their perfect hair as their extremely perfect daughter told them you let her take a sip of the beer you had at lunch that day. It was baffling to Leah how he could stay there and not want to hang himself…especially with how exceedingly '"I want to hang myself" he'd been acting.

"Oh look, they're showing Emily's interview again." Seth said.

Her cousin's face was on the screen; puffy red eyes and an overcast expression replying to the reporter sitting next to her. She'd seen this interview half-a-dozen times since….it happened…and every time she found herself fading from disbelief to acceptance each time it was played. It completely dumfounded her that they could just die like that. In that way. No epic battle, no Supervamps running around, just a freak accident that just…happened.

But was it really that inevitable? Death was still an option, and it most definitely was going to happen one day. Where were the rules that said it needed to be extravagant? She could die right now, choking on the popcorn she was stuffing her face with. Just because she had cool supery-powery things; it didn't stop the fact that she needed to breathe…and if the kernels got to her before they did…bye bye, Leah. There was also the whole "let me stop phasing and grow old" thing…if she ever had a reason to. Why give up eternal youthfulness? Sure it came at the cost of turning into a wolf every so often, sterility, and confirmation that she would most likely scare off any guy that came three feet from her…but she was getting used to the idea. Watching the heartache Emily was going through was starting to convince Leah even more about how much of a suckfest love actually was. Either you got over them, they left you, or they died. It was just flowers and bunnies and rainbows all around.

"...We were trying to get pregnant," Emily said. "Sam was so excited, he'd already picked out some baby names…I just don't understand—"

"I said TURN IT OFF!" Jacob let out a growl from the other room. Leah heard his door slam.

Oh no. This was UNACCEPTABLE. That was it, she'd had enough. He had barely been around, and when he was, he made all things that were depressing extremely unbearable. It confounded her. To no end.

"_EXCUSE _me?" She jumped off of the couch and began walking towards Jacob's room. It was a small house, but the Cullens had so graciously offered it to them so that Jacob could be out of LaPush and close to Renesmee. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms….and Leah was certain they were about to tear it all apart. Oh well, they were dogs…they could live outside in a lean-to instead of a four-two.

"I know you aren't screaming orders right now. Today, in this _tiny_ moment you've decided to grace us with your presence. You may be Alpha, and I know that it's raining buckets of crap outside, but that's no excuse to come in, eat our food, and start requiring us to serve you- you are _seriously_ going to do that? If I want to watch the damn TV, and listen to my miserable cousin cry about miserable things, then I will. _I WILL_!" She was right outside his door, ending her brief rant with a rap on his door.

Seth's head peeked over the couch. "Leah…maybe you should-"

Jacob's door opened abruptly. If only looks could kill….Leah would have died right there. No popcorn required.

"You. Me. Outside. Now."

He went before her, slamming the front door behind him.

"I'll make sure to tell Mom and Charlie that you love them." Seth whispered behind her. She rolled her eyes and made her way to the front porch.

If she were as sensitive as Seth, respectful as Embry, or as scared of Jacob as Quil was…she may have responded differently.

"C'mom Black, I saw you pee your pants on the playground and cry when you were five. It makes it hard to take you serious sometimes."

He was on her in a moment.

"Serious? SERIOUS?!" He was shaking, almost phasing out on her. They'd all gotten really good at controlling it, but sometimes, if they were angry enough…poof.

"You wanna talk _serious_, Leah? People are dead. An entire pack is dead. _Sam_ is dead!"

"I know that. I was there."

"No, Leah, see, you weren't. You didn't see it happen, you didn't watch them get crushed and buried. You didn't try to dig out your friends and listen to them die one by one! I don't understand how you can walk around and act like nothing happened. I don't understand how you don't acknowledge that _this_ happened." He was holding up his hands to her face. They weren't as badly burned as they were a week ago. His skin was healing faster than a normal person, but he still had some pretty good blisters. Carlisle had said he'd had third-degree burns…under other circumstances, he would have lost his hands.

"You're right, Jacob, I don't understand!" She was starting to feel hot underneath her shirt. "You haven't been around to explain it, have you? No. You've been cooped up at _Chateau-de-Bella _allowing those leeches to console you more than your own family!"

"Don't call them that. And they _are_ family."

Leah scoffed. "Awesome, thanks for that giant slap in the face! I'm glad the bond of our pack means so very little to you."

"You know I didn't mean it that way…"

"Oh the hell you didn't. We always come second to them, Jake. Now even to _Edward_, the guy I recall you'd openly despise and whose hair gel you privately fantasized switching for Nair! _God. _You are our freaking _Alpha._ Maybe _we've_ needed _you_! Did you know that Quil and Embry are talking about being done? They want to _quit_, Jake! Did you know that Seth has cried every night since it happened, I mean, he's the same age as some of those boys!"

Jake gave a sigh. He pounded his fist into the side of the house, which gave a shuddering thud before pile of leaves leapt from the gutter.

"I know that, Leah. Which is why I completely understand the reasons the rest of the pack is acting the way that they are. What I don't understand is how you can be so completely…completely…._normal_. Normal-_la la la, everything is totally fine and nothing has changed at _ALL!"

He walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders, for a moment she was terrified he was going to shake her until her head flew off. "Leah, you were in _love _with Sam. How the hell are you able to sit on your ass, eat popcorn, watch the news, and then switch to reruns of "Firefly" all in the same hour?"

"Nathan Fillion is attractive and Joss Whedon is a genius."

"_Leah_!"

"AH, I don't know, Jake. I just do, we all grieve in different ways, okay! God, you'd think that with everything we've gone through…we'd all be a little more accepting of kicking the proverbial bucket or whatever. I'm sorry that I'm not wearing a black veil, sobbing, and listening to 'Candle in the Wind' on repeat."

With an expression of disbelief, he squeezed her arms before letting go and retreating to the other side of the porch.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" He cried.

The truth was…she really didn't know. Initially, she was hurt. However, the past few years had started to build this sort of emotional blockade. It was her defense against the constant interwoven tangle of the pack's emotional bond. Those first few months after she' phased, during the Sam/Emily shit tornado and the Jake/Cullen/Volturi hurricane, things had been brutal. In the aftermath, she'd realized that if she was sarcastic about everything…then she could be hurt by nothing. Initially it had been a great tactic, but now, it was really starting to be problematic.

"The food is problematic…" She muttered under her breath.

"What? Leah, are you even _listening_ to me?" Jake's voice interrupted her. Somewhere in her musings he'd started berating her again.

"What?"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! How can I rely on you right now? How can I even respect you, when it's so blatantly obvious you have no respect for….you know why I've been at Bella's? Because at least she listens to me when I talk. Bella, Edward, Renesmee…all of the Cullens have been nothing but understanding and consoling! You've just been….God, I don't know Leah!

She bit the inside of her cheek as a whole new wave of anger swept through her. A different kind. The 'Ouch, that kind of hurt' kind. It took every restraint she had to not phase and bite his entire, stupid, vampire-loving face off. He may be her Alpha, but he was also an idiot. A three thousand foot tall, five-hundred pound IDIOT.

"You know, fuck it," she said abruptly. "Go ahead, continue on the 'poor me' train. I know you went through some kind of terrible hell in there. I get that. I guess when you're Alpha, you get to throw as long of a pity party as you want to…but don't think for one second that getting lessons from the queen of angst herself means she's better than me. She watches Buffy for Christ's sake. Is that supposed to be some kind of stupid, ironic joke over there?"

Jake let out yet another exasperated cry. He threw himself onto the steps and put his head in his hands.

Leah stared at him for a moment, and then started to unbutton her shirt. "I'll go stay with my mom tonight. Tell Seth I'm sorry, I know you'll be pissed. I'll see you at the…service..thing tomorrow." Before he could respond, she'd already phased. She knew he'd be too angsty and stupid to follow her.

~xxx~

Of course it was pouring the next day.

Literally. Not just buckets of crap.

In addition to tribe ceremony and tradition, the people of Forks wanted to hold a memorial "to honor the lives lost in the La Push fire tragedy." That's what they were calling it now. A tragedy. Like the plot from one of Shakespeare's plays, or a Sundance Film Festival drama. Leah was sure it was only moments before they got a call from Paramount or Lifetime for the movie rights…she was fine with it, as long as they got someone awesome to play her.

She'd woken up to the smell of her mother making breakfast, something that admittedly, she'd forgotten how much she loved. This revelation was greatly enhanced by the fact that Sue was dieting and Charlie had left super early to go set up at the school; so the grand feast of pancakes, waffles, and bacon was strictly for her. She made a mental note to fight with Jake more so that she could come home to this more often. Her mother laid out the plates and grabbed a yogurt and grapefruit for herself.

"You look good, mom." Leah said between mouthfuls.

"What? Oh, yes. Thanks, sweetie." She absently took a bite and stared past Leah to the wall.

"Mom, are you okay?" she swallowed and put her fork down. Usually, a compliment about how great Sue's diet was going would perk her up a bit, but she was off. She seemed…haunted. Scared. Like at any moment she was going to jump out of her skin.

Leah got up and sat down in the chair next to her mom. She put her hands on Sue's arm and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked softly.

Sue snapped out of her haze and looked into Leah's eyes. She put both her hands around Leah's face and held them there. It was such a gentle gesture, and one that was not uncommon. Sue had often comforted Leah in this way, but now, Leah realized that it was becoming more a comfort for Sue instead of her.

Sue was silent for a moment, running her thumbs over Leah's cheeks.

"It could have been you." She said finally. "It could have been you and Seth in that building that day. This could be your memorial today."

Leah reached up and grabbed her mother's hands. She thought of an array of things to say to her. But it was Sue. It was Mom. She could be sarcastic and impossible for ages…but her mother deserved better.

"I wish I could tell you that you're wrong." Leah whispered after a moment. "I really wish that."

"I know you do. It's just…I wish that sometimes, you could understand. You bury yourself behind irritability and you joke so much…I wonder if sometimes you forget that things like this are serious and worrisome."

"I do understand"

Sue leaned forward and kissed Leah on the forehead. She got up and began to clear some of the dishes. "I wish you did," she chuckled "Maybe one day, when you have your own kids, you will."

For a moment it was like someone had sucked the air out of the kitchen.

Sue sucked in and cringed. "Oh! Leah, I'm sorry."

Leah sat still and shrugged. It wasn't the first time, and certainly not the last time. She was so used to correcting others about her "special needs" as a wolf…it really wasn't that shocking or biting anymore. While talks about the future and love and happiness weren't the best, Leah's favorite was still, without a doubt, explaining to rouge hikers why she was naked in the woods.

"It's fine, mom." She gave an encouraging nod.

"So!" Sue began, in a tone that signaled she was desperately hoping to change the subject. "Have you spoken to Jacob yet today?"

Leah growled into her glass of milk.

"You know, Leah, you do tend to have a tendency to be a bit pretentious and overdramatic."

"Truth." Leah responded, finishing her bacon.

"And Jacob is a tad….sensitive at times."

Leah raised her eyebrow, "If you mean that he is perpetually on his period, than yes, I agree."

The phone rang, and Sue smacked Leah on the head with the newspaper before heading to answer it. "Bad, dog." She whispered.

Ha ha. Very funny.

Moments later, Sue returned, tearing off her apron. "That was Charlie," She said. "It's raining and they have to move everything into the gym, which is still full of all the equipment and supplies they salvaged from the wreckage. They need some extra hands to help move things around…if only they knew of some people strong enough to carry an entire book case by themselves."

Leah rolled her eyes and got up from the table. She kissed her mom on the cheek and headed to change.

~xxx~

And so the rest of the day went. It was a blur of tasks and TV crews, tears, and speeches. Leah did what she was told and went anywhere that was not in the same vicinity of anyone with the last name "Black." Per her mother's request, she kept her mouth shut. It was very hard. Especially when Mr. Rowe took thirty-minutes to stress the "importance of perseverance" and "the value of strength under pressure" blah blah blah. The only thing Leah could focus on was the podium he was standing on, and how it very much needed to have "strength under pressure". She could hear the thing groaning from across the room, and she swore that if it did buckle…she was going to lose it with the most inappropriate burst of hysterical laughter EVER. Unfortunately, for the remainder of the day, the podium was consistently strong in character and physicality.

By the end of the program, everyone that had been there since the morning was exhausted. Even though he tried not to show it, Charlie was stiff from all the moving things around. The Cullens, who had (to Leah's dismay) come to pay their respects, arranged for everyone to head home. From across the emptying gym, Jake finally acknowledged Leah and nodded her over to where the rest of the pack had formed. He wore a look that said "Even if you are still pissed at me, and even if I'm still pissed at you. We are still a pack, and your ass better help."

She hunched her shoulders and trudged across the floor. As she began stacking chairs, things got _so_ much better.

"Hello, Leah!" said a cheery, soprano, sing-songy voice.

"Hi, Nessie." Leah sighed.

"My Jacob came over last night. He and Mother argued about you quite extensively…again."

"I bet."

"He cried."

Leah stopped with her stack, immediately. Before she could ask Nessie what the hell she was talking about, Edward called from the doors.

"Renesmee! Mother needs you to get your things; Grandpa and Sue are having you two over at their house tonight."

The ever-so-perky perked up even more, abandoning Leah to skip away. She stood there dumbfounded, further confused by the fact that Edward Cullen had abandoned his post and was now making his way over to her. Leah desperately tried to think of a brick wall.

"You should talk to him." He said.

Leah went back to stacking chairs. "Why are you talking to me?"

"You should talk to him." Edward repeated. "He's really troubled by the whole thing, and to be honest, I think you're the only one who can really understand the extent to what he's feeling."

Leah scoffed. "What about Miss—what about Bella."

Edward raised his eyebrow at Leah's intended insult. "Their relationship….is different. Bella can help Jake…but she's also…biased. While her own mortality is still fairly recent…she could never understand the whole werewolf …thing ."

"Yeah, like he would even talk to me right now. If you haven't noticed, I'm not really making with the 'fuzzies'." Leah finished her stack of chairs and then started to walk away. Edward grabbed a stack in seconds and continued to pursue her.

"He really just needs someone to talk to. You should just listen…he trusts you more than you think."

He was right. It pissed her off, but she knew he was right. They laid the chairs to rest, and Leah headed for a different exit. As Edward turned to leave her, he called out one more thing.

"That was a cement wall, by the way."

"What?" Leah said.

"That wasn't a brick wall, it was cement." He smirked and then headed in the opposite direction.

_What a douche_. She thought.

And she made sure to think it really REALLY loud.

Seth's voice came from behind her head. "Why was Edward talking to you?

Leah crossed her arms over her chest. "What makes you think that he was talking to me, maybe _I_ was talking to him."

Seth chuckled. "Yeah, right."

She shook her head and continued outside. "So. Am I banned?"

"I don't think so. Not this time."

"Really."

"No," Seth said "More like, 'probationary status'. I'm assuming. But you can get confirmation tonight at the thing."

"What thing?"

"Oh! I was supposed to tell you. Pack meeting. Jake wants us to have our own ceremony."

Leah almost answered with a complaint about being "ceremonied" out…however, she saw the look in Seth eyes. The one he wore when he really wanted something, but wasn't going to ask for it if it killed him.

"I'll be there." She said. She ruffled his hair before winking and setting off.

~xxx~

The night was cool, and it smelled like the rain. It was also quiet. But not the unsettling kind. The quiet that only nature could offer; absent of all things modern but full of a peace that was nothing if not organic. This was Leah's favorite part of being a wolf. Nights like these, where she really felt the connection she had to the earth. It was like she could feel every cell from the grass, seeping into her paws and pulsing through her body. Like the crickets were singing to the beat of her heart. Like…nothing else mattered but the needs of the nature and order in which it ran.

She met the rest of the pack at the meeting point. Their thoughts were somber, and Leah, calmed by the night and its devices, sat in silent expectation.

Jake came into the clearing. He really was an impressive beast. In the moonlight, he looked almost majestic; shiny and regal. The true Alpha. She expected him to give some sort of speech, but instead, he sent them all a mental image of the other pack. _'For our brothers.'_ He thought. Then he raised himself up and let out a howl. The others began to follow suit, sending individual images of the ones lost in the fire.

They became a chorus; howling for what felt like hours. Leah lost track of time. There was something so unmistakably rightabout how it all felt. It was as if, even though the human in her was emotionally stunted, the wolf part of her still needed to mourn, and in this way. Eventually the wolf-song stopped, and the pack began to silently disperse. Leah felt them leave the bond, one by one, until all that was left was her and Jake.

And she wondered why. Because the entire experience had been exhilarating. She felt as if she'd been charged with a bolt of electricity. Like she was awake. It was as if everything was suddenly a thousand times clearer…how could the rest of them just pursue a quiet night at home in somber solidarity? She felt like she could run around the globe. Twice. She could race a jet plane and still not be tired.

She felt like she was vibrating and on fire, as if she were about to phase for the first time all over again. She was so overcome by this new feeling that she barely noticed if Jakes consciousness was there or not…she just needed to run. She didn't care if she was banned, or if she needed to talk to Jake. Even if he expected her to stay behind and clear things up. She just needed to take off, she needed to launch herself into the night-

-"Uh, Miss? You all right?"

What the hell?

It was suddenly morning.

"Miss?"

It was suddenly morning and she was completely naked, with a man decked out in hiking gear gazing down at her in shock. Again.

Well…._shit_.

* * *

A/N: Well, there goes chapter 3! I know it didn't answer ALL the questions, but hopefully some. The story should begin to pick up a bit now, the first three chapters are usually the hardest for me, lol. Don't worry, you WILL learn all the details of the blast (eventually) and I promise a Leah/Jake reconciliation...of sorts...in the near future. See ya next time, folks!


End file.
